Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 6,935 Shares of Peoples Financial Services Corp. $PFIS

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services Corp. by 1.4%, owning a total of 495,001 shares worth approximately $22 million.
• Peoples Financial Services reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.69 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.48.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6175 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.6%, with payment set for September 15th.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 495,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,935 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 4.95% of Peoples Financial Services worth $22,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 28,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 82,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares during the period. 31.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Peoples Financial Services

In other Peoples Financial Services news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $47.67 per share, with a total value of $47,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $873,266.73. This represents a 5.77% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Peoples Financial Services Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PFIS traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.57. The company had a trading volume of 60,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,109. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 12-month low of $38.90 and a 12-month high of $59.70. The stock has a market cap of $525.17 million, a PE ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50-day moving average is $50.93 and its 200 day moving average is $47.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.21. Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 11.80%.The firm had revenue of $48.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $46.75 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.6175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Peoples Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Peoples Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.00.

Peoples Financial Services Profile

Peoples Financial Services Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company that provides various commercial and retail banking services. The company accepts money market, negotiable order of withdrawal, savings, individual retirement, demand deposit, and certificates of deposit accounts.